The Church (ekklesia*), the body of Christ is God’s Mission empowered by the Holy Spirit for the Great Commandment and the Great Commission: To Love God and Love People, (Matt. 22:37-39) Preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, and Make Disciples. (Matt. 28:18-20)
May it be clearly understood and agreed upon that Jesus Christ is the author and founder of the church. Therefore, it is His design that we are seeking to discover and walk therein.
“Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:18-19)
His kingdom is represented on earth through His church as “ambassadors,” with the “ministry of reconciliation.”
“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:17-21)
In an age where the lines have been blurred and a redefining of what the “church” is makes it necessary to go back to the origin. At Jerusalem in the “upper room” when the Holy Spirit fell and filled the primitive church what happened? It was the birthing of a new species. A born again, third race of men, no longer separated from God and each other, but one in Christ. They are “called out” of the darkness of this world into the kingdom of Heaven.
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Col. 1:13)
How does this new species thrive? This is important to understand, the people of God thrive in their new habitat call the church. The church is blood bought, Spirit filled, citizens of Heaven that bear the nature of their Creator. A good question is, how did the early church mature in this new reality? How did they escape the snares of the “perverse generation” pulling them contrary from the new way of Christ? A lot can be learned from the early church that’s relevant for us today. The account is found in Acts 2:37-47:
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
The church is commissioned to reveal to every spiritual and natural power the Supremacy of Christ and God’s eternal purpose for humanity.
“To make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Eph. 3:9-11)
Jesus the Christ, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Col. 1:15-20)
God chose to manifest His multi-faceted wisdom and purpose through the church. What is this revelation? The very person of Christ: the face of God, the Creator by whom all things consist. We are called to mature and grow up in Him. What does this look like?
The integrated Mission of Christ – The Four-Fold Mandate:
1. IDENTITY: Knowing who we are in Christ
2. INTIMACY: Our relationship with Christ
3. COMMUNITY: Building genuine relationships in Christ
4. LEGACY: Impacting the world with the gospel of the kingdom.
Remember, the Lord has not created us to be religious “hamsters on the wheel” endlessly caught in a performance trap (legalism) nor has He called us to be indifferent to hedonism (serving lustful pleasure), living as the god of our own lives (libertinism). There’s a ditch on either side. The gospel of the kingdom is good news about Jesus Christ—the King—reconciling man to the Heavenly Father and access to His resurrected life pouring through a surrendered people unto fullness. Will you give Him your all for the sake of the call?
Scripture says, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all… And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love..” (Eph. 4:1-6, 11-16).
Being a Community Cultivating a Culture Founded in the Nature and Ethics of Christ:
- Wholehearted worship of the Godhead in Spirit and in truth. (Jn. 4:24)
- Walking in honesty, humility, honor, hope, harmony, humor, and hunger for Christ.
- Resonating with a heart frequency of charity (love in action) and hospitality. (Ro. 12:13, 1 Pet. 4:9, Matt. 25:40)
- Healed, delivered, and filled with the Spirit. (Lk. 4:18-19)
- Creating “safe harbor,” where being real is welcomed and transparency modeled without negative judgment or a critical spirit.
- Taking time to discover, receive, and cooperate with one another’s design (imago dei: image of God) for mutual edification.
- Wholehearted service in the body from the discovery and individual design of God. Willingness to serve, both from passion and sacrifice. (Matt. 20:28, Lk. 22:26-27, 1 Pet. 4:10-11, Phil. 2:3-8)
- Excited to generously give and meet needs as the Spirit leads. (1 Tim. 6:18, Lk. 6:38, 2 Cor. 9:6-12, Pro. 22:9)
- Exercising both, the fruit and gifts of the Spirit in everyday life. (Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 4:11-16)
- Unity with one heart and mind under the authority of Christ. Speaking, thinking, and sound judgement are in harmony without division among the community of disciples. (1 Cor. 1:10, Eph. 4, Acts 4)
- Submitted to the Holy Spirit of truth. (Eph. 5:21)
- Mutual submission to function, rolls, and responsibilities of others out of reverence for Christ. (Eph. 5:21)
- Practicing the ministry of listening. (James 1:19)
- Burning to preach the gospel, seeing the lost redeemed, teaching/instructing them in righteousness, and fulfilled in Christ as disciples. (Mk. 16:15, Matt. 28:18-20)
In simple terms, the Mission is equipping disciples for God’s Eternal Vision.
(*Ekklesia: Greek, “a called-out assembly or congregation.” Ekklesia is commonly translated as “church” in the New Testament. For example, Acts 11:26 says that “Barnabas and Saul met with the church [ekklesia]” in Antioch. And in 1 Corinthians 15:9 Paul says that he had persecuted the church [ekklesia] of God.” The “called-out assembly,” then, is a congregation of believers whom God has called out of the world and “into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).)
(**Discipleship, out of love for God and by His grace not religious obligation or the fear of men.)